


Home

by FactoryKat



Category: Blackrock Chronicles - Fandom, The Yogscast, Zoethian - Fandom
Genre: Blackrock, Blackrock Chronicles, F/M, Fluff, Rythian - Freeform, Zoeya - Freeform, yogscast - Freeform, zoethian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-11-05 15:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11016018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FactoryKat/pseuds/FactoryKat
Summary: They did it. They had taken back their lives and finally found peace again, but Rythian still isn’t quite satisfied. Something is missing. That something, is Home





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for this particular fandom, and the first one I have written since my senior year in high school (2003!) Since the gang revealed on Tumblr how the series was supposed to end and even some long standing secrets, I wanted to write a little something about what they might have gotten up to after all was said and done. I certainly had fun writing it. It's short, but sweet. I was going to do multiple parts but two seemed to be enough. Enjoy!
> 
> Update: I went back in and changed all instance of Zoey to Zoeya for further distinction between the real person and her character. Only time I left it simply Zoey is in Rythian's dialogue. Just seemed to work better that way.

You know how all traditional fairytales end with "Happily Ever After", but what exactly happens "ever after"? Is the story truly over? After all, the hero or heroine must have saved the day and now everything is perfect, and happy and wonderful.

Except that wasn't quite the way the world worked, at least not in this story. Yes, they had won. The Ender dragon had been taken down, the Queen’s soldiers, the endermen menaces had been driven back to their realm. They had quite literally prevented a full on invasion of this world, as well as the collapse of another, the realm of Twilight. Learning the truth about Zoeya, about _everything_ had taken some time to process of course. It certainly had come as a surprise to Rythian himself, to find out that there was validity in all of her quirks and their jokes about her being a “Mushroom Princess”. The jokes became a startling reality without either of them expecting such and it still boggled his mind. Although, perhaps what perplexed the mage even more was that she had chosen to stay here with him, rather than take her place as the rightful ruler of Twilight. He remembered asking - her more than once - if she was sure, somehow unable to believe that she would pick him over a literal crown.

_True to form, however, Zoeya had only smiled and laughed at him while breaking into a characteristic ramble "I mean yeah okay I'm a princess and that's cool and all but like, so are computers and magic and hanging with you and Tee, and I have the band and I can't just break them up…." She seemed to stop and organize her thoughts for a moment long enough to look at him, to stare right at him. Her blue eyes seemed to bore straight through his chest like they always had before and hit him somewhere deep inside. "And besides, who would look after you?"_

_"Wha--hold on-" Truth be told, Rythian found himself lost for words quite often when it came to Zoeya, but usually born from confusion or frustration over her antics. This time, her rhetorical question caught him completely off-guard, like pulling the rug out from under his feet. True, the last time she had left him to his own devices - well it hadn't been good but those were different circumstances and he considered himself to be in a better frame of mind than back then._

_Zoeya picked up on his momentary confusion and laughed again, breaking into elated giggles even, as she zipped around their desert base pretending to shoot lasers from her robotic arm as he had seen her do a thousand times since they put it together. "Also, I totally would miss going on really cool adventures with you and Tee, kickin' butt and being awesome-" Zoeya approached again, about to make another pass around the camp when Rythian grabbed her, rather abruptly, and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her smaller form tightly, as if determined to never let go of her again. "AH!" She was startled, but only for a moment. She lifted her head to steal a glance at the often-too-serious endermage. "Ryth?" He buried his masked face in her wild red hair and held fast to her just for a moment longer. "It's nothing, Zoey. Just happy." Rythian muttered in response, his expression conveniently hidden but she heard the mirth in his voice that spoke volumes more than his words ever could. His was the picture of a man perfectly content with what he had._

_"Oh." She let herself relax, pressing her back into his chest earnestly. He was mildly warm and the faint hum of magic coursing through him was a familiar comfort. She beamed, her smile reaching from ear to ear. "Good."_  
  


Rythian laid awake in their bed, still in the tent in the middle of a desert camp, while the memories flitted across his mind. His eyes flicked to his right as Zoeya still slumbered away, peacefully no less. They both had their share of nightmares from time to time still but he was glad that hers seemed to be less frequent in more recent times. He wasn’t quite sure of the hour, but the mage was too used to operating on very little sleep. To be honest, he had always been an early riser anyway. Not to mention trying to sleep comfortably under the bright, blazing sun was difficult. Even with the tent to provide them shelter from the elements, it was still far too warm. Part of that could have been attributed to the fiery haired, haphazard mess of limbs and twisted sheets sprawled across him, a mess he wouldn’t trade for anything in this world.

Deftly and without waking her up, Rythian untangled himself from Zoeya and slipped out of the bed. A small noise and inaudible murmurs gave him pause, thinking he had disturbed her after all. Luckily, she still dozed, apparently dreaming judging by her incoherent mumbles about band practice and something else about a concert.

 _Heh_.

Sometime in the night she had discarded a blanket in a crumpled head on the floor, one which he now shook free of stray sand to lay over her before gently brushing away the green and red strands of hair that had fallen in her face. She was his world now. His crazy and unpredictable world, and though anywhere with her would always be ‘home’, sickbay was only supposed to be a temporary solution to an urgent problem. His desperation to save Zoeya had driven him from the site of the explosion, frantic and angry, to an unfamiliar place where he had no choice but to trust strangers with her very fragile life. Now however, Rythian was feeling more than anxious to settle on a new, much more permanent location to call home. It was no carefully guarded secret that Zoeya herself wasn’t fond of the desert either, so the decision to uproot again wasn't a wholly selfish desire.

Truth be told, Blackrock had been _special,_ for a lack of a better word. The two of them had spent time and effort building the castle and Zoeya especially had poured hours of love into designing the interior. He distinctly remembered how proud she was to show him around, and of course her fluster when he expressed a personal fondness for the ‘storage room’ over any other. The memory made him chuckle quietly in the faint light of the early morning as he slipped on his trousers and tunic first before the rest of his usual attire.

He recalled spying a jungle to the south of Sick- err, _Cabertown,_ after the time machine incident. There had also been lush plains to the north, the ones they had traveled through on their hunt for cocoa beans (before stumbling upon the Twilight portal), so there were reasonable options close enough to the town that they wouldn’t be strangers but could get out of the barren desert.

Perhaps he should wait to hear what the others thought, before getting too far ahead of himself.

Rythian‘s thoughts betrayed him while scribbling another entry in his journal to start the day. Rather than pondering the numerous projects to be fulfilled, or what chaos to expect today from Ravs and Nilesy in Cabertown, he was consumed with the idea of finding the perfect place to start building.

He released a restless sigh, and put the pen down without finishing. Zoeya had teased him initially, after seeing him write in it sometime following her release from Sickbay’s hospital. She’d put on a voice and mimicked him speaking aloud as he wrote, in an over exaggerated performance with needless dramatics no less. She had found it pointedly hilarious as he tried to defend his position, insisting he didn’t sound like _that._ It had only made her laugh harder when he chased after her fleeing form, announcing in a faux-dramatic tone about exacting his revenge.

 _“Dear diary – we are victorious! I have defeated the evil queen and rescued the beautiful princess,”_ a forced husky whisper crooned over his shoulder.

“Who- dammit -Zoey! Don’t sneak up on me – and for the last time, it’s not a diary!” Startled, the mage nearly catapulted off his chair. Every hair along the back of his neck stood at attention. This sent Zoeya into a fit of giggles. However, she did apologize. “Sorry, sorry!”

With his back still turned to her, Rythian rolled his eyes and released a heavy exhale. He closed the book, laying it aside for now and turned around to face Zoeya who was wrestling with her clothes.

“What are you doing up anyway?”

“Bad dreams. Couldn’t sleep.”

A small pang of guilt bubbled to the surface. Worry lines marred his forehead. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I dreamt that we had run out of chocolate milk and then we went to go find more cocoa beans only to discover that they were extinct! It was horrible Rythian! Just horrible!” She tried not to laugh as his expression very quickly changed from one of concern to one matching the exasperation in his voice. 

“Oh yes. I’m sure. How horrifying,” he mocked, affectionately.

Still, there was obvious relief in his tone and his posture especially as his shoulders relaxed and the tension fled. Zoeya fortunately didn’t point it out, but she knew he was always worrying about her, much in the way she had always worried about him – y’know - before the whole nuke business happened anyway.

“Exactly! I’m so glad you understand how serious that would be!” By this point, she could only barely contain her snorts and snickering but pulled herself together once she was fully clothed. “Anyway, it turns out we actually almost  _are_  out of cocoa beans. So I was kinda hoping we could go get some! If that’s okay.”

Smiles had quickly become much more common to see from him since she entered his life and changed it in ways most unexpectedly. She certainly gave him plenty of reasons to do so. He didn’t fight back the one that unfurled onto his lips, one that even the mask and scarf couldn’t fully conceal as it touched his eyes.

“Of course we can. Actually,” he started, getting up now and brushing himself off idly. “I’ve been thinking, it’s about time we actually set up a proper base again. A new place to call home and everything. I mean, this camp served its purpose but I know you don’t really like the desert, and neither do I-“

Rythian was nearly thrown off his feet as Zoeya lunged at him excitedly, flinging her arms around him. “Oh my gosh, yes!” He peered down at her, only to be met with wide blue eyes full of anticipation. “I have sooo many cool ideas! This is going to be amazing! Ooh! I need to find my stylin’ glasses again. Oh gosh. Actually, I just realized they were probably lost in the explosion, huh? That’s fine. I’ll just have to get some new ones.”

Well that was an enthusiastic response. He laughed as she chattered away and returned the embrace with one arm while the other he used to steady himself and find balance so they wouldn’t both topple over. “Okay, it’s settled then. Shall we head out?”

Zoeya released him so they could both properly stand upright. “Yes! Let’s go see if Tee wants to tag along.” She gave Rythian a squeeze around his waist for good measure before zipping off towards their dino companion’s tower. Not even halfway there, she paused in sudden realization. He could almost visualize the light bulb illuminated just over her head. “Oh! I should probably take care of the pets before we go too.”

“Alright. I’m going to let Ravs know we’ll be gone for a while and to keep an eye on things. Why don’t you two meet me over then when you’re ready.”

“Roger that!” Zoeya quipped, before darting away again and out of sight finally.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rythian never said he was an artist

“Rythian!”

Zoeya chirped gleefully, her jet boots adding an extra bounce to her step. She had twirled to face him but continued walking with her back to the landscape. Tee trotted along behind them, his new crossbow aimed and at the ready to snipe any hostiles who dared threaten his friends, the two people who took him in, treated him like family. Life was never dull in their company. Much as his protection was appreciated, the fact remained that the sun had only just risen and it was far too bright for them to face much opposition. As such, Rythian felt comfortable leaving his sword sheathed at his side knowing the sharp shooter dinosaur had their backs if they should stumble into trouble.

“Hm?”

“Can we make our new base all super high tech, but with like, a magic aura and stuff? I mean, Blackrock was cool and all with its spooky broody Goth vibe, but it’d be so cool to teleport around and then do backflips and junk with gravity whosemwhatsits!”

He balked, somehow stunned by the words that tumbled out of her mouth. “Zoey! It’s not _goth_ -it’s—also is that even possible—never mind, I-“ Rythian stammered, trying to state his point but found it impossible to argue. It was the effect she had on him. “You know what? Sure. Let’s do it.” He conceded, finally. If it made her happy, then it would be worth it in the end. They could work out the finer details later when they actually began the building. There was still a _line_ he wasn’t quite ready to cross and the mage was certain he never would be, but compromise was important. They had to meet in middle ground in order to make their cohabitation continue to work, in order to keep holding on tightly to something so precious and good.

She practically squeaked with joy. “Really?? Oh man! Rythian you’re the best!”

Heat flooded his cheeks and with it a hint of color swelled. Without breaking composure, he played it off coolly, “I know.” Rythian ignored the indignant snort from behind him, Tee obviously not convinced by the mage’s act of stoicism. The dinosaur was mute but certainly not deaf, or blind, he saw and heard enough.

Zoeya, who either didn’t notice or didn’t want to embarrass him, danced away jumping from one dirt mound to another. “This is going to be amazing! Just you wait!”

_Truthfully, she had a point. In terms of pure aesthetic, Blackrock Castle had been visually impressive and intimidating from the outside, making sure any who saw it on the horizon knew just who resided within. The black brick stronghold had been constructed with the intent of making a statement – ‘don’t mess with us’.  Yet it was the inside that had been the most surprising, jarring even to those who only ever saw him as some dangerous, vengeance-thirsty wizard hell bent on seeking retribution for supposed grievances against him. The inside spoke of warmth, of the life within, all thanks to Zoeya’s ingenuity and determination to make a livable habitat out of the structure beyond just giving the mage a place to hole himself up while he amassed the resources needed to become untouchable. But for all that made the castle hospitable, there were still things that cast a long shadow over it. Things that had lurked below, that spoke of betrayal, secrets and uncertainties, not to mention pain and loss. In some ways, the old fortress had stood as a physical personification of his anger, at more than just Sjin and Lalna. He could admit that much. Rythian’s first attempts to start over again were half-hearted as he’d found himself unable to move past even the grudge against them, after having been collateral damage in their stupid little war. A war that now he was able to look back on as an argument between squabbling children-_

“Rythian!”

Zoeya’s distinct voice cut abruptly into his reverie and chased away the cloud over his head. He had a tendency to overthink but she had the uncanny ability to pull him out of deep thought with just the call of his name just as she had reached into the darkness, willing to help him claw his way out.

“Wh-?” He blinked away the haze to see her standing beside a towering tree, one of many in a sprawling jungle just in front of them. “Oh. Sorry, what now?”

Her eyes were skyward, focused on a lower hanging bunch that were out of reach even for Rythian, tall as he was. “I found some cocoa beans. Hmm, but they’re pretty high up there. I think I can climb it though, let me see…”

To be honest, watching Zoeya attempt to scale the massive tree was a humorous sight, though he stood underneath the canopy anyway in case she were to slip. It was habitual, to want to protect her, even from the most mundane threats. “Do you need my help?” He called up to her, watching closely.

“Mmnah, almost there-” She stretched her arm out as far as the robotic limb could feasibly go. As luck would have it, she managed to grab them before the branches on which she had very precariously been balancing gave way. “AH! Oh crumbs-” down she went, but rather than landing face first on the jungle floor, Rythian’s arms served as her safety net.

“Oh. Hi!” Zoeya seemed surprised that he’d caught her.

He chuckled. “Hello.”

There was a marked pause while the two simply said nothing as they exchanged a brief but meaningful glance, sharing unspoken words that they had tried to say more than once but could never quite finish without something

interfering. It only lasted a moment but it was a moment long enough for Zoeya to know that she had made the right choice, and for Rythian to feel eternally grateful.

He set her down so she could stand on her own two feet. She quipped, while putting away the cocoa beans she successfully collected. “I’m thinking maybe we should have installed like a grappling hook in my arm. That would be useful. And also a parachute!”

“A parachute? Are you planning on making a habit of falling from the sky then?”

“I mean, it’s kinda my thing now, yeah?”

“I guess it is. Anyway, let’s find Tee and continue on I suppose.”

Sounds of cracking branches and rustling leaves drew their attention to a different jungle tree just behind them. The clever dinosaur had already gathered a king’s ransom worth of beans in half the time it took her to climb the tree, acquired by using his crossbow to shoot them down. Zoeya was simultaneously impressed and pleased. “Oh, I didn’t think about that! Thanks Greenman, you’re awesome! This should last me a while.” He gave his best impression of a proper grin, nodding his head in rapid succession as he often did when communicating with his human friends.

An angry gurgling sound interrupted the chatter and all eyes turned to Zoeya who looked a little sheepish. “Guess I should’ve had breakfast before going off adventuring huh?”

Rythian was about to interject, as it had been he who had been so eager to leave, but another stomach - that of their mute companion - protested just as loudly. While he was used to skipping the first meal of the day, typically well engrossed in magic or research before he realized he should have eaten something, the same could not be said of Zoeya, or Teep.  “Alright," he managed between genuine, full-bodied laughs, "I will take that as a sign to head back and have some food."

 

* * *

 

With satisfied stomachs full on mushroom stew, raw meat or whatever delicacies that could be found in the middle of a desert, everyone had thrown themselves into their own respective projects. Tee was enjoying target practice with Paul to keep him company, Zoeya was lost in a sea of code and awash in a green glow as she tinkered away, all while Rythian found himself unsurprisingly sidetracked. He had sat down with the intention of working on his Thauminomicon, but lacked the focus required to perform any arcane feats. The arts were not difficult to learn, but to master or even perform with any amount of finesse required patience and full dedication. It was those very traits he currently lacked in that moment. Instead he flipped idly through the pages of his journal and his eyes glossed over the text rather than actually reading anything. One entry was incomplete, and familiar doodles left by a certain redhead filled the space where his own words had trailed off. At the time, he had been frustrated with Zoeya for her flagrant thievery of the book and defacing it after he’d fallen asleep at his desk. She had, rightfully, scolded him for working himself to the point of exhaustion again and claimed that to be his just desserts. Typical. The girl was often wonderfully bizarre at best, but she had defining moments of clarity that demonstrated her capacity to care. As he lifted the pen and flipped a few more pages, he happened upon a blank one and almost subconsciously began to sketch.

At least an hour had passed and the mage had become more than absorbed in his creative endeavors that he almost didn’t hear the quiet footsteps on the smooth sandstone floor until a pair of arms, one pale and human while the other grey and metallic, wrapped themselves around his neck from behind.

“Hiya Ryth!” She greeted cheerfully, resting her chin on his shoulder and pressed her cheek to his masked face.

He didn’t mind the intrusion and welcomed her nearness. “Hi, Zoey.” Her presence was calming, even when she was rambling about mushrooms or her band, or otherwise being erratic, she was a centering force in his life. “Did you finally get bored of your wires and circuits? Come to learn from a _true_ master of the arts? Hmm?” Although his grin was carefully concealed, she could see it in the way the corners of his eyes pinched and heard it in the timbre of his voice.  

“Do you ever get bored of your, um, magic? WhatIdontknow.” She mumbled, with a snort and the sort of laugh that implied self-awareness of the poorly crafted follow-up. Cracking jokes and delivering retorts that either didn't make sense or only made sense in her own eccentric mind had been what initially endeared her to him.

“Oh. How eloquent. So witty.”

“I know right? Anyway. I came to see what you were doing- Oooh, I didn’t know you could draw, Rythian!” She leaned a little further over his shoulder, awestruck by the mage’s hands as they swept across the page with each stroke of his pen. To be honest, Zoeya had always enjoyed watching him work, on anything, even. There was a hypnotizing grace to his movements. At Blackrock, it had always been easy to lose time just standing or sitting around the magic room, awestruck in quiet admiration as he wove energies together with ease that came from both years of practice and natural talent.

“I wouldn’t call it drawing, really. Honestly it’s all very rough, but, here-” Rythian angled his sitting form to give Zoeya a better view of the pages now filled with half a dozen sketches of what looked like architecture, buildings, exterior and some very simple interior construction. “Just some ideas for the new base.”

Invited to get a closer look, she sifted through the designs with unchecked fascination. “Oh wow!” One of the pages in particular made her hesitate and she turned it around once or twice for good measure, as though that would somehow help her decipher what she was looking at. Mild confusion bloomed onto her face as she held up the paper in question. “Hey Ryth, what’s this here?” It was a large room, marked with a hastily scribbled mushroom and filled with vaguely recognizable shapes that could have been interpreted as computer screens and a random mishmash of technology.

“That would be a lab. For a certain mushroom loving, time-traveling, self-titled ‘technomage’, but don't tell her. It's supposed to be a surprise.”

Seeing her light up with pure joy was perhaps one of the greatest gifts he could ever receive. “Really? Are you sure? I mean I know you’re like, okay with me doing computers and stuff now, and you even helped me with my arm but like, that’s a lot!”

In truth, he was still coming around to the idea, but he had been making significant strides since Tee’s dinonapping at the hands of Sjin, when Zoeya gathered up the courage to show him her underground lab and he lost his cool. Since then, they had been operating on a strict policy of honesty and communication. There were still demons in his personal closet that he wasn’t sure that could ever be fully driven back, but any progress was good progress.

“Yes, really. It’s fine. I trust you to be careful.” Not to mention it was a safe environment where he could keep an eye on her in case something ever went wrong. His paranoia would forever be a difficult beast to wrestle, but with careful measures it could be managed over time, not just for his own sake but hers as well.

“Wow. That,” her words tapered off as she studied the drawing again for a passing moment before looking back at Rythian who was pleased as pie that she was so excited. “Sorry, I was just thinking about all the cool stuff I could do, but yeah!”  
  
Again, with no warning, he found himself captive to her embrace and just like every other time he was surprised by her sheer physical strength. What he really wasn’t prepared for was the deft motion in which she pulled away the fabric covering the lower half of his face to steal a kiss, brief and sweet but not without meaning. She planted her lips on the very tip of his nose for good measure, in perhaps the most adoring manner. “This means _sooo_ much to me, you don’t even know!”

Even now, after all they had been through, his heart still hammered in his chest as he expected her to recoil in horror or shock over seeing the angular, jagged scarring cutting across both cheeks. It was the story behind their existence that made him hide them from the world. But she never did, not the first time she had seen them, nor would she ever. It just wasn't in her nature. She had been more curious than appalled, really, but he supposed that should not have come as a surprise. He laughed, nervously but also bemused, and fixed the mess she had made of his scarf. He drew the mask back up over his nose once more but it did little to hide the subtle flush in his face. "Pretty sure I have some idea."

"Anyway, we should talk about your drawings, Rythian. I mean, is this supposed to be a computer? Like, what?" She joked, quite obviously at that.

"Hey, I never proclaimed to be an artist now!"

Hastily she scrambled up onto his lap and situated herself between mage and desk, effectively commandeering his space and sketches. "Uh huh, then you won't mind if I make some _improvements_ on your designs."

"Wha-hey-Zoey- _ow_ \- excuse you," he protested, narrowly avoiding taking a stray elbow to the face. "You could have just asked me to move you know. And what do you mean _improve_?"

"It's-nothing. Don't worry about that. It's fine. It's _fine._ You just- if you're going to draw our awesome new base, don't you think you should have drawn _us_ in it?" Immediately, she set to work doodling her personal visions of the three of them and though Rythian tried to object, fighting to take back control of his work - insisting that was _not_ what he looked like, and she definitely didn't have _that_ installed in her arm - there was no stopping her once she was on a roll.

And why would he want to anyway?


	3. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing exploded.

“Zoey, do you need- Wait. What’s that?”

“What?”

“That! What is that?”

“Um, it’s a wall?”

“Yes, I can see it’s a wall, Zoey. I mean, why is the wall made out of mossy stone brick?” he asked, hesitant to hear the anticipated response she was undoubtedly going to retort with.

The sounds of her cheerful humming had melded with those of frenzied building like an oddly comforting tune, but they came to a sudden stop immediately after his line of inquiry. A head of scarlet protruded just over the stone wall, and with it a pair of inquisitive blue eyes.   
  
“I thought we were going to do something cool and different?”

“Wha-hey. The basalt _is_ cool, and it was kind of our _thing_ , you know?”  
  


Memories of when they first started working on Blackrock castle always left the two of them feeling sentimental. One of his favorite memories took place after the initial setback brought on by his carelessness when dumping the contents of his alchemical bag into the condenser - and the basalt bricks they had only just collected along with it. They ended up making a second trip back to Baby Jim to gather some more.

_He was painstakingly counting each block as he laid it, putting all of his focus into constructing the foundation of what would be their base of operations. Zoeya rattled off an odd sequence of numbers, none with any distinct pattern and solely meant to confuse and distract him._

_She was successful._  
  
_“Ga-goddammit I actually lost count.” he sputtered, laughing right along with her. What would have otherwise been a menial, monotonous task on his own, became almost a game with Zoeya’s involvement. Rythian had never considered taking on an apprentice before, but perhaps some good would come out of it. He quite enjoyed the idea of teaching someone else in the ways of the arcane, and who better a tutor to learn from. The mage fancied himself to be quite talented and even in the brief time spent with her, he could sense much would be the same with his red-haired protege after enough time and practice._

_They both started counting again, this time making actual progress and without any further interruptions…_   
  


“Mhm. And our _thing_ kind of exploded sooo, like, maybe – um – not?”

Rythian sighed, half in defeat but with a measure of understanding. The association had not been lost on him, but it wasn’t quite so visceral a memory as it was for her. Zoeya proclaimed to be well versed in, what she called “Rythianisms” (along with Rythisms and Rythiams, but he contested each name much more profusely than the last), and could easily detect even a hint of concession to her whimsy. Giving her a hard ‘no’ was sometimes the most difficult thing in the world for him and she exploited that fact happily.

“Alright. You win, mushroom girl. But I still think the basalt is cooler.” He muttered, not at all sore about waving the white flag.   
  
She cheered over earning the win and bounced away, shouting about how awesome the new base would be. Her excited flee left him with a grin and sense of contentment. Honestly, building together felt like old times. The nostalgia had crept in suddenly without his notice and set the tone for the day. Zoeya’s humming had evolved into lyric spinning, accompanied by the occasional twang of her fish harmonica. It was funny how some of these things that had baffled him at first quickly became so commonplace that a day without them felt wrong.

During the next few hours, they exchanged more chatter, plenty of jokes, the odd rambles about mushroom politics and even some reminiscing. Ravs made a surprise visit, with Tee in tow, bearing mugs all but spilling over with Zero, chocolate milk, and whatever it was that had the dinosaur running around spinning in circles. Not even his mayoral duties in Cabertown could keep the man from doing what he knew best. You could take the Scot out of the pub, but you couldn’t take the bartender out of the Scot it seemed. Rythian was in no mind to complain, and Zoeya was satisfied as long as the chocolate milk kept coming. The three of them argued about creepy castles and bombs, and the sun was nearly below the horizon by the time Ravs had to depart and get back to town. According to him, there was growing unrest among the locals. He had muttered something else about Nilesy in his wake, but the words petered out in a slurred jumble that the mage couldn’t be bothered to decipher.

Sunlight was fleeting rapidly and before long they would not be able to see two feet in front of them. _Well_ , most of them wouldn’t. Rythian lifted his head just as his mushroom loving apprentice returned her tools and remaining building materials to the large chest just to the left of his feet, yawning all the while. Sleep had not yet caught up to him, characteristically, but it was certainly no surprise that she needed rest to maintain such high levels of energy all the time.   
  
“Heya Ryth. I’m pretty tired so I’m going to bed. I guess you’re staying? Cause you’re weird and you don’t sleep. Ya know. Cause you’re weird.”

“I do sleep. Just, not a lot. But yes. I’m going to finish up. I’ll be to bed soon. Go on ahead.”

“Uh huh. So I’m totally not going to come out here in the morning and find you sort of, slumped against the materials chest again like you used to in the magic room back at Blackrock like, all the time?”

“I - no hold on, it was _one_ time! And no, for your information, I _do_ plan on coming to bed. I just want to finish this wall. Don’t want any monsters attacking us in the middle of the night.”  
  
“Yup. Right. Gotcha. Okay well, see you in the morning Rythian!” She teased.

“I will be there within the hour. Now go.” He ushered her off towards what would become their new bedroom. The new base was only partially unfinished, and though it sat empty, Zoeya had insisted on setting up their bed if nothing else. It was a wise decision. She tottered off with a wave and disappeared around the corner soon after.

 

∞

 

Time had, rather expectedly, escaped him again and another two hours had been stolen from the dedicated mage by hyper-focused productivity. It was only the beckoning of a certain mushroom princess that broke his concentration. "Rythiannn - I miss you~ Please come to bed!"

"I'll be done soon, Zoey.”

“Rythiannn - I need you. What if I have a nightmare?”

She could hear the sigh carry through the still empty halls of their new base, of their new _home. ‘_ Zoey’s Dream Designs’ had not yet performed their own brand of magic on it yet. After a long day of building, they had both been too exhausted to decorate. Rythian, the perfectionist that he could often be, had been double and triple checking the structural integrity of their handiwork and preparing wards for when all was said and done. Calls back to paranoia and not so fond memories were the likely culprit, among the always present desire to keep those precious to him safe.

“Okay, okay.” His footfalls grew nearer, heavier as he rounded the corner and finally his tall, lanky form manifested in the doorway.

“Rythiannn…” She called, one final time just as he closed the door behind him and shed the layers of his adventuring clothes and the weight of the day in the span of a long exhale. “Yes, what is it Zoey?”

“I love you!”

“Oh. _Is that all_ ?” To see a grin was a simple thing. To _hear_ it in not just the tone and inflection of his voice, but the actual words themselves, was infinitely better.

“Yup. Totally.” She played it casual, or tried to, rather but the goofy smile on her face couldn’t be helped.

They exchanged long, earnest glances, filled to bursting with all the _other_ unspoken emotions and heartfelt admonitions that were ever only implied through action or replacement conversation meant to stand in for what they always wished to say. Rythian drew back the covers, an invitation for Zoeya to snuggle up. Eagerly she nestled in, after much squirming to find the right spot.   
“I see. Well. I love you too then. Now go to sleep, we have a lot more work to do tomorrow.”

There was a quiet scoff in the darkness. “We? You mean me! _I’m_ the interior designer here. Gosh Rythian. You shouldn’t take credit for all my hard work, that’s very rude.”

“Uh huh. Sleep. We will argue about it in the morning.”

“Fiiine. G’night Ryth.”

“Goodnight Zoey.”

“...Rythian?”

A huff, “What?”

She was holding back her excitement, if just barely. “The new base is going to be so awesome.”

He laid there, eyes closed but felt a smile creep up on him. “Yes. Yes it will be. Now go to sleep.”

  
  
And nothing exploded.  
(except maybe all the fans’ hearts)


End file.
